33. The Nudge Group

Revenue: $2.2 million
Growth: 8.44%
Founders: Steve Grace
Head office: Sydney, NSW
Year founded: 2019
Employees: 5
Industry: Professional Services
Website: thenudgegroup.com

How The Nudge Group started

After experiencing the sometimes-harsh world of recruitment firsthand, Steve Grace realised that the industry wasn’t adequately serving the needs of startup and scale-up founders. He had a burning passion to help innovative entrepreneurs and guide them along the turbulent journey of growth. The solution? He founded The Nudge Group. Its mission? To provide dedicated support to founders while addressing one of their most critical challenges: building the right teams.

Over time, The Nudge Group’s focus has expanded to include a comprehensive ecosystem of services that assist founders at every stage of their growth journey. Although they have diversified offerings to cater to varying needs and funding cycles, Grace says his core mission remains unwavering.

Growth

In the early days, Grace’s recruitment model thrived, but there was one (big!) problem: it didn’t generate the recurring revenue the business needed to survive. Complacency left The Nudge Group unprepared when the market took a nosedive.

Never one to shrink in the face of a challenge, Grace rode out this stormy period and took away some incredibly valuable business lessons that would serve him well when things turned around. Two lessons he still holds dear: the importance of proactivity, and accountability.

Where to next

The Nudge Group is preparing for a brand overhaul as TNG Media, leveraging its rich media assets to transition from a recruitment-focused business to a recurring-revenue subscription model. Grace says the recruitment business serves founders well during hiring phases, but has intermittent demand.

So for the future, TNG Media will deliver consistent relevance and reach. The transition is a strategic move to diversify the existing business model for sustained growth and expand the company’s impact, helping more people lead better lives with their startups.